Elastic-strip-feeding means.



1. P'. vvEls. l

ELASTIC STRIP FEEDING MEANS. f

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 15. 19H.

1,277,008. Patented Aug. 27, 19m

5 SHEETS-SHEEI' l.

ATTOR IY 1, P. vvEls.`

ELASTIC STRIP FEEDING MEANS.

APPLICATION HLED Nov. 15, 1911.

1,277,008. Patented AugfQ?, 1918.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

wlTNEssEs: du/mdf 1. P. WEIS.

ELASTIC STRIP FEEDING MEANS. APPLICATION HLLD Nov.15,1917.

1,277,008. 1 Paten1edAug.27,1918.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

WITNESSES INVENTOR BY 70h72? Was.

I. P. WEIS.'

ELASTIC STRIP FEEDING MEANS.l APPLICATION" FILED Nov. I5. 1911.

. 92??,@98 a Patented Aug. 27, 1918.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

INVENT'IIP WITNESSES:

WMS.

amas.

J P. WEIS, OF NYACK, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOB T0 METBPOLITAN coona'rron, or maca, anw Yoan, A CORPORATION on nnnawn Steenderen-manine MEANS.

original apbneation-mea July 1a, 1915,

To @ZZ/whom t may concern.'

Be it known that l, JOHN P. Wars, a citiin the county of Rockland and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Elastic Strip Feeding Means, of which the following is a specication.

-This invention relates to sewing machines, and while particularly adapted for hemming the waist bands and bottoms of lknickerbocker bloomers and the like, it may also be used for a variety of purposes, such as hemming and inserting an elastic strip in the bottoms of shirtwaists or the tops of skirts, dusting caps, bathing suits, blouses, etc. It may be equally wel uses other than hemming where a. strong top and bottom feeding action is required.

In the hemming of knickerbocker bloomers, the usual method has been to seam up the garment, then cover the edge of the top and bottom with an overstitchv to form a selvage, then the work was passed on to a hemming machine where the tops and bottoms were turnedover and at the same time the operators would insert a loop of elastic, guiding/it in by hand into the folded hem while the stitching proceeded. These elastic bands were made endless by a separate operation, to facilitate the handling by the operators, lwho did the hemming. Another method was to prepare the work as above and after the garments were finished the elastic band was inserted with a. bodkin or other instrument by hand and the ends p joined. rllhese methods have proven to be very slow and expensive, because it is diflicult to predetermine the lengths of the rubber band with respect to the size of the garments before and after finishing. That is to say, the elastic strip as used is far from being uniform in width, thickness and elasticity, therefore when it is cut in predetermined lengths and made endless in loop form one loop will have agreater amount of elasticity than another and great difiiculty' has beenv experienced in getting aI uniform finish for the Work.

All this is done away with by the present improved machine, by means of which the hemming, overstitching, inserting and guiding of the elastic strip is automatically performed and yet manually controlled, so that adapted for various Specicatiers Patenti Patented Amig.. 2'?, g

Serial No. 39,222. Divided and this application led November 15,

191'?.v Serial No. 202,215.

the amount of the elastic strip inserted is practically determined b garment being stitched, w ile the amount of gathering of the goods at the hem is determined and controlled by the mechanism for guiding the elast-ic strip, thus greatly simplifymg the operation and enabling a large production of uniform work with a neatly covered edge and with'the elastic strip securely fastened at the beginning and ending of the stitching operations.

A still more important feature of the present invention resides in the fact that it is desirable to have the front portion of the garment, especially a waist band, free from gathers sothat it will lie flat, and also to control the gathered portions at the sides and rear thereof so that no bulky appearance will appear at the front. This was not possible with the old methods, for in order to accomplish this t-he elastic band must be in a normal condition at the front, where no gathers appear, and be stitched at this portion to maintain this condition, otherwise the gathers would creep or shift along thc elastic band from place to place. This was a serious objection to the work produced by the old methods.

The present application is a division of my contemporaneously pending application, Serial No; 39,222, tiled July l2, 1915, and the drawings and specification of that original application are duplicated herein in order that a Clear understanding may be had of that part or species of such original application, which is herein claimed.

ln the drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a front view of the machine; Fig. 2 is an end view of Fig. l; Fig. 3 is a top view of the working mechanism showing the goods feeding to and from the stitching and feeding mechanism, the top arm being removed to show the juxtaposition of the hemming guide, the elastic guide and the controlling* guide acting in and upon the hem; Fig.4 -i's a partly sectional view of the stitching and feeding mechanism; Fig.` 5 is a front view showing various parts in section and is intended to illustrate the clamping mechanism by means of which the elastic band is placed under tension and how its guiding means is shifted laterally simultaneously with the action of this mechanismgFig. 6 shows the can titi

the size of the hemmed portion of a garment produced by this improved machine; h ig. 7 is a detail perspective View of the elastic tension release and guiding means; and lfig. 3 is a perspective detail view of one of the clamping plates, showing the knurled or serrated surface over which the elastic strip passes.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures of the drawings.

The base l. of the sewing machine frame fore a detailed description thereof is deemed unnecessary. A pitman 12 extends from the adjustable crank l to the rocker frame 13, which is pivotally supported, as at i4, on the machine base l and has connected there; with the usual feed bar l pivotally connected at lo to the feed lift eccentric strap l?, operated by the eccentric 13 carried by the main shaft adjacent to the looper vibrating eccentric 19, see Fig. 5. The lower feed dog 20, see F ig. 4., cooperates with the presser foot 2l carried by the presser bar 22, which operates in the well known manner to coact in the feeding and stitching of the work. A top feeding mechanism also coacts with the presser foot mechanism and the bottom feeding mechanism and has an arm 23 secured to a shaft 24 carriedby the rocker frame 13, and as the feed bar l5 is also secured to this shaft 24 there is a fixed relation between the pivot 16 and the rock shaft 25 carried by the arm, 23. rfhat is to say, these two parts are practically as one when secured to the shaft 24, s0 that any movement imparted to the bottom feed dog is also imparted by means of the curved arm 23 to the top feed dogs 26 and 27 of the arm 23. rl'he top feeds 26 and 27 are adjustably secured to a rock shaft 25 by clamping means 29, which affords a means ofsetting the top feed dogs to and from the bottom feed to suit the requirements. rlhe feed dogs 26 and 27 extend from the rear of the stitching mechanism up, into and along the side of the presser foot 2l, so that a portion of the feed dog 27 extends and operates in the rear and in line with the stitching mechanism while the feed dog 26 operates adjacent thereto. Each of these feed dogs has an upturned end 30 so as not to hook into the top portion of the hem at the commence`v :intacte ment of the stitchingoperation. The upturned end 3l of the presser foot 20 is for the same purpose. rlhese upturned ends of the presser foot and feed dogs respectively assist greatly in the rapid handling of the work. The rock shaft 25 has a threaded end 32 to receive nuts 33, thereby to control the end movement of the shaft 25. Secured to the other end of this shaft 25 is an arm 34 extending forwardly and having pivotally attached thereto' a link 35. A similar parallel link 36 is also pivotally secured to the arm 34 on a center with the shaft 25, so that it will have merely a lifting action during its travel to and fro. The top end of this link 36 is pivotally secured to a rocker arm 33, which is pivotally secured,

I as at 39, to aA yoke 40. The yoke is drilled to receive the presser foot bar 22 and 1s slotted to straddle the presser foot guide bar 43. The forward end of the rocker arm 38 has pivotally'secured thereto the top of the link 35. e. coil spring carried by the presser foot bar 22'has one end resting on the yoke 40 andthe other end resting against the adjustable plate 46, which is bent at right angles and fork shaped to straddle the presser foot bar and aiiords a means of adjusting the pressure of the top feed dogs on the work. The guide bar 43 is connected with the presser foot bar by the connection 43, se as to have the same vertical rise and fall as the presser foot bar and operates in the bearings 49 and carries a pin 50 at the lower end thereof to act as an abutment to limit the downward movement of the yoke 40. lhis also aifords a means of lifting the top feed members from the work at the time the presser foot islifted, and under normal working conditions, that is when the work is under the presser foot, the upper feed dogs are lifted slightly and by reason of the link 35 the yoke 40 is lifted away from the pin 50 so that an independent pressure is exerted through the top feed mechanism on the work from the spring 45, while the main pressure is exerted from the spring 51' to the presser bar 22 and the presser foot 2l Iindependently of the spring 45, so that pressure or action of one will not interfere with the other to a limited degree.

Jfrlrom the foregoing it will be seen that the feeding movements of the bottom feed are transmitted through the arm 23 to the feed dogs 26 and 27 to and fro past the stitching mechanism, while the lifting movement of the feed dogs 26 and 27 is also transmitted through the arm 23 from the lower feeding means through the rock shaft 25, and by reason of the links 35 and 36 connected to the arm 34 and to the rocker arm 33 the upward movement ofthe link36,

iis

caused by the lifting of the bottom feed dog,

will rock the arm 33 on the pivot 39 so that the link 35 and the top feeds 26 and 27 will f move downward to clamp the work on to the bottom feed y20. That is to say, a clamping up and down movement and a pulling` movement'I are obtained in the construction shown. At the rear end of a feeding stroke the reverse action takes place. The bottom feed is drawn downward away from the work, the top feeds lifted upward away from the work as they move forward and at the forward end of the stroke they are brought together to again clamp the work in the feeding action.

vHeretofore the connecting and actuating means from the bottom feed to the top feed extended directly from the end of the feed bar, which carries the feed dog, through the usual opening in the cloth plate, and therefore to remove the cloth plate this connecting means had to be swung out of position7 being hinged 0r otherwise constructed to permit the removal of the the' cloth plate, whereas in the present construction the cui-ved arm 23 extending from the upper shaft 24 and up over the cloth plate has its hub 28 in substantially the same loca-tion as if the link or connecting means were connected directly as above described. Thus it will be seen that the cloth plate generally indica-ted by 52, being slotted at 53, may be removed without disturbing or disconnecting the top feeding mechanism from the bottom feeding mechanism.

The cloth plate 52 is provided with a slide plate 55, see Fig. 3, having adjustably secured thereto a guide 56, which is provided with an upstanding portion 57 to guide the edge of the hem 58 at the stitching position. Adjustably'secured to the cloth plate-in front of the stitchingv position is the hemming guide 59 having an overhanging eX- tension 60 and a reduced portion. 61 extending close to the needles to guide the raw edge of the work in between the two needles so that it will be Vcovered by the overstitch made from the two needle threads and the looper thread. Overhanging the reduced portion 61 of the hemming guide is a fiattened guide tube 62, slotted as at 63 on an angle of forty-ve degrees for the passage of the elastic strip. j This tube is secured to a slide 64 confined to lateral movements by the screws 65, that is movements transversely 0f the line of stitches or the direction of feed 0f the work. as at 66 at the outer end and is bent down, as at 67, to coact with a wedge or cam piece 68 carried by a rod 69 rovided with a collar 70, see Figs. 2 and) 7, having an out' wardly and upwardly projecting arm 71 having a beveled or tooth-formed end 71. The rod 69 operates in a bearing 72 having -a base 73 secured to the table top 74, and

this guides the rod in its vertical movements.

A hole 75 in the table top 74 provides af space for the spring 76 which surrounds the This slide 64 is slotted rod 69, with one end acting against the bottom of the bearing 72 and the other end against a collar 7 7 thereby to normally hold the rod 69 downward. A floor treadle 83 is, by means of a chain 82, connected with a lever 79 pivotally carried by a bracket 81,4

` sure of the c amping member 86 against the plate 85. The clamping member 86 has reinforcing ribsv 92 to prevent bending at the vhole 88, where the pressure occurs. The

front end of this clamping member 86 is provided at both its top and bottom edges with guiding projections 93, thereby forming guides for the elastic strip. The clamping plate also has a forwardly` extending curved end 94 eoacting with a somewhat similar extension 95 carried by the plate 85, see Fig. 3, so that the tooth 71 may operate therebetween and move this clamping member 86 away from the plate 85 against the action of its spring 90 when the rod 69 istreadle shifted upward. The inner faces of the'plate 85 and member 86 may be knurled or serrated, as at 96 Fig. 8, to insuremore eective action if desired. Located underneath the table is a supply of the elastic band or strip 97, and this extends upward so as to pass between the plates 85 and 86 and the guides 93 of the clamping plate 86 overhanging the top and bottom edges of the plate 85, which thus guide the elastic strip to the slot 66, from whence it passes to the top and over the shiftable'slide or plate 64 into the angular slot 63 of the tube 62 which operates close to the stitching mechanism and by which. itsdirectionl of movement is changed. The cloth plate 52 carries a pin 98, see Fig. 7, to which is secureda spring 99, the opposite end of which is attached to the slide 64, as at 100, and this spring normally holds the end 67 of'the slide against the beveled end of the wedge 68 so that the delivery end of the tube 62 is at the right of and delivers the tape out of' the path of the needles.

Referring to Fig. 8 of the drawing, A

represents -one portion or half of a bloomer top or other garment; B represents another portion or the other half thereof; C, C represents the front and rear seams joining these two portions or halves together after the hemming is done; Dsrepresents the plain portion of the hem at the front, a part of which extends at each side of the front seam C, in other words that portion thereof whereV the elastic strip S is not stretched during the formation orn the garment and which portion of the elastic strip is shown stitched to the garment by a line or stitching as D; E represents the point at which tension was applied to the elastic strip S; E the point where the tension is released on the strip; and l? the finish ot that portionror the hem where the elastic strip is tast/cned for a short distance by the stitches F, and

during which taclring of the strip the elastic strip is, as stated, released from its tension and is therefore not stretched; G represents the commencement of the hem of the other portion or half of the garment where the end of the elastic strip is fastened for a short distance by the stitches G, and at which time likewise the elastic strip is not tensioned or stretched; H the part Where the strip is again placed under tension; and E the point at which the tension is released from the elastic strip and therefore repre vsents the end of the gathered portion on the side A ofthe article. After the two halves ot the garment are formed in the manner stated, they are brought together and then seamed up at the front and baclr'as at C, C, and of course these seams are somewhat wider than the lines C, C, indicate in the drawing and the seam for instance, referring to the back seam, would probably extend from F to G. The seaming of the front at C, in a garment of this kind also connects the two elastic strip ends to the garment by a vertical -line of stitches as D2 and so also the seaming of the back connects the two adjacent ends of rthe elastic strips by a vertical line of stitches provided of course the operator has terminated the ends or", the elastic strips sufliciently close to the seams to permit this. This is not essential however. Thus it will be seen that in the garment shown the elastic strip is inserted into the hem of the garment and the raw edge of the hem is covered by a row or rows of stitches, and that the elastic strips are fastened at the rear seam in the midst of the gathers for a short distance to each side of such rear seam, and also astened at the ront seam in the center of the plain portion as well as for a few inches to each side of such front seam. That is to say, at this plain portion in front the elastic is stitched along its edge as at D by the inside needle of the two-needle machine for a distance of three or four inches each side of the center seam, so that this leaves the plain portion or the hem without gathers at the front of the garment while conhning all the gathers at the sides and rear thereof. rThe leg 'portions (that is, around the bottom of the leg portions) are hemmed in a similar manner with a short plain portion at the joining seam where the ends oit the elastic are stit 'ed for about half inch unstretched, so that the elastic will be in the path of a needle and ythus be stitched at the beginning or" the operation, whereupon the4 elastic guide is either shifted and tensioned or retarded, or the elastic stretched, so as to carry it free of the stitching needles and vmaintained in this stretched condition as the goods are fed on to the elastic and until that portion of the garment where there are to be no gathers is reached, whereupon the elastic guide is shifted back and released or simply released when it has not been shifted, so that the needle will stitch the elastic to the garment, whereupon the other halt of the garment is made in asimilar manner and the two portions of the garment connected by a seam up each leg portion and by seaming up the front and rear of the body portion as shown at C, C, thus completing the garment. Thus when the article is finished that portion of the garment in juxtaposition to the stretched elastic will be gathered as the elastic returns to its normal condition while that portion of the garment in j uXtaposition to that part of the elastic that was not tensioned or stretched will remain plain, and in the drawing this portion is shown at the front of the garment although obviously the plain portion may be located at any desired point as circumstances might require. ln a waist, for instance, the garment would be gatheredpractically throughout its entire circumference and the plain portions only or the waist would be but short ones, where the buttons and button holes or other astening means are used.

Tn other words, when the work is removed from. the machine the elastic strip resumes its normal condition and so gathers vthe hem as illustrated at E to E and l-l to article heing made, and therefore it be seen that the location of the ga' ered and plain portions vary' in different garments or even in different portions of the same garment. For instance in the garment illustrated the plain portion is shown at the front, While the gathered portions are at the sidesv and rear, because only a small portion of the ends of the elastic strip already at the rear seam are tacked and-therefore when the rear seam is formedv the garment will be gathered practically up to such Seama, In a shirt waist, however, as stated, the gathers would be all the way around except at the meeting edges where thebuttons or other fastening means is placed, at which points the garment will have short plain portions, to facilitate the placing of the buttons and the overlapping of such meeting edges of the garment. Around the bottom of the bloomers also the gathers usually extend all the way around except at the leg seam, on the opposite sides of which seam the elastic is tacked and therefore is not stitched during the tacking operation. While the method heretofore used was as follows: The cut garments were irst seamed up and then joined, the edges were overstitched on an overstitch machine to cover the raw edge. The garment was then hemmed on a separate machine, usually a single needle machine, and then the elastic inserted with a bodkin, or in some cases the elastic was inserted at the time of Jhe hemming and then drawn taut at the finish and tacked down. These, of course, were very slow methods, and the work was unsightly.

From the foregoing it will be seen that when the treadle 83 is operated the lever .79

will actuate the rod 69 and compress the spring 76, thus forcing thebeveled end 71 of the clamp release between' the members 85 and 86Yof the clamping device so as to open the same and release the elastic strip so that it will move freely from the supply to and past the stitching position. At the same time the wedge 68 of the slide shifter moving upward forces the depending end 67 of the slide 64 outward, thereby shifting the guide tube 62 to the left so that the right hand needle will penetrate .and stitch the elastic at all times while the mechanism remains in said position, as at D Fig. 6. lnstantly, as the treadle 88 is released, the springs 76 and 99 cause the wedge 68, clamp 7l and slide 64 carrying the elastic tube to assume their normal positions and so keep the elastic free and away from the stitching line, while maintaining the elastic in a stretched Vcondition to its full. extent, or nearly so. That is to say, at the time the elastic strip is clamped between the plates 85l and 86, and consequently as the work passes through the stitching mechanism, the elastic strip is automatically stretched and not ,'sewed along its edge, so that when the work is rrnoved from the' machine this elastic strip assumes its normal condition and so athers the hem as illustrated at E to F and to H. vThis action on the piece of work illustrated takes place at the beginning and ending of each piece being stitched or tacked so that the .ends of the elastic are fastened and will not become: displaced while in the .Y hem, and, as stated, as the work is delivered from the machine the elastic assumes its normal or unstretched condition, gathering the goods as it leaves the feeding and presser foot mechanism. f

v From the foregoing it will be seen that in order to stitch and feed the work properly, as well as the elastic strip under heavy tension, a very strong feedin action is necessary, which is obtained in t e mechanism described and by means of which the hemming operations are performed on one machine rapidly in a simple manner, whereas heretofore several machines were required, constituting as many operations to complete the work.

In some instances the shiftable elastic strip guide may be stationary, by reason of the fact that when tension is placed upon the elastic strip it narrows the same so that it will miss the needles and not be stitched, but when the tension upon the strip is released the elastic strip widens and thus brings one edge thereof under the needles. Both of these methods of procedure are within the purview of my invention, since it will be obvious that by merely removing the part 68 and tightening the screws which hold the shiftable guide the guide will be held stationary while the clamping means will still be operated through the medium of the treadle, and the part 71 carried by the rod 69, and this is the particular species or subject matter which is herein particularly claimed, since the broad subject matter and that species wherein the elastic guide is shi'ftable is claimed in my co-pending application, Serial No. 39,222.

. The term clamped as used in the speciication and claims is intended to mean that the band is clamped or tensioned in such manner that the normal feeding movement thereof is retarded sufliciently to accomplish the purpose set forth, and this retardation 1w may be accomplished by so clamping or retarding the normal feed movement of the strip without necessarily positively clamping it so as to entirely prevent all movement thereof, and therefore the statement in the 12@ specification and claims that the feeding movement of the elastic strip is prevented is intended to mean that the normal feeding movement thereof is prevented or retarded suliiciently to accomplish the obj ect set forth, and the claims are to be read and interpreted with these distinctions in mind. v

I claim as vmy invention:

l. In a sewing machine, the combination of feeding mechanism, stitch forminggnechnar anism having two spaced needles and complemental stitch forming devices for the respective needles, means for guiding a fabric to the needles and forming a pocket therein, a guide for directing an elastic tape to the needles and in the pocket formed by the stitching mechanism, means for supporting said guide in a iXed position so that the tape when tree from tension will be engagedby one of the needles, and means for placing said tape under tension at the will of the operator for withdrawing the tape from the path of the needle whereby the tape will be placed in the pocket free from the lines ot stitching. Y

2. ln a sewing machine, the combination of feeding mechanism, stitch forming mechanism having a needle, means for guiding a fabric to the stitching mechanism, a guide for directing an -elastic tape when free from tension into the path oi the needle, means for holding said guide in a fixed position, means for placing said elastic tape under tension at a point some distance from the needle thereby to carry said tape out of the path of the needle, and manually operating means for releasing said tension at will.

3. ln a sewing machine, the combination of feeding mechanism, stitch Jforming mechanism having a needle, means for guiding a fabric to the stitching mechanism, a lined guide located to direct an elastic strip at an angle to its initial direction of movement and into the path of the needle, and means for engaging said strip at the will of the operator :for diverting said strip from the path of the needle.

d. ln a sewing machine, the combination of feeding mechanism, stitch forming mechanism having a needle, means for guiding a fabric to the stitching mechanism, a fixed guide located in position Jfor directing an elastic strip at an angle to its initial direction-tl andfinto the path of the needle when yfree from tension, and means for placing said elastic strip -under tension at the will of the operator thereby to divert it from the path of the needle.

5,. ln a sewing machine, theicombination of feeding mechanism, a Work support, a

. presser foot, stitch forming mechanism including spaced needles, means for guiding a fabric to the stitching mechanism whereby a pocket is formed therein, a fixed vguide located to direct an elastic strip at an angle to its initial direction of movement and into said pocket and into the path or one of said needles when said strip is free from tension, means whereby said strip may be put under tension, and manually controlled means for releasing the tension at the 'will of the operator@ 6. in asewing machine, the combination with stitching mechanism, feeding mecha- E nism and hemming means of tired means for guiding an elastic strip into the hem, and means for clamping the strip at one time and for releasing it at another time, the organization bein(r such that when the elastic strip is clamped such strip is stretched and when released it is permitted to return to its normal unstretched condition.

7. In a sewing machine, the combination with stitching mechanism of lixed means for guiding an n elastic strip to the stitching mechanism, and means 'for clamping the strip at one time thereby to retard the movement thereof and stretch the strip to narrow it and thus carry it out ofthe path of the stitching mechanism to prevent the stitching of said strip and for releasing the strip at another time whereby the strip is permitted to return to its normal unstretched condition and into the path of the stitching mechanism whereby it will bestitched. @i

S. ln a sewing machine, the combination of stitching and feeding mechanism, hemming means, iiXed vmeans for guiding" an elastic strip into position within the hdm, means for clamping said elastic strip thereby to shift it away from the stitching mechanism and for releasing it to shift it into the path of the stitching means, said guiding y I means including means for changing the direction of movement ofthe strip.

9. ln a sewing machine, the combination of stitching mechanism, of xed means for guiding an elastic strip to the stitching mechanism, said guiding means including means for changing the direction ofmovement of said strip, and means .for automatically retarding the movement of the strip during a part of the stitching operation.

l0. ln a sewing machine the combination of stitching mechanism, ci ixed means for guiding an elastic strip to the stitching mechanism, and means forplacing the stri under tension at onetime thereby to hold said strip out oit the path of the stitching mechanism and for releasing said tension at another time 'thereby to permit the strip to return into the path of the stitching mechanism. 1`

1l.v ln a sewing machine the combination of stitching mechanism, of fixed means for guiding an elastic strip to the stitching mechanism, means for placing the strip under tension at onetime thereby to hold said strip out of the path of the stitching mech- -anism and for releasing said tension at another time thereby to permit the strip to return into the path of the stitching mechanism, and means controlled by the operator for operating said tension means.

12. ln a sewing machine, the combination of stitching mechanism and feeding mechanism, xed means for guiding an elastic strip to the work, andmeans for retarding said elastic strip at one time thereby to away from the stitching mechanism and lll-if for releasing it at another time thereby to carry it into the path-of the stitching mechanism, said fixed guidin means including means for reversing the e astic strip.

a 13. In a sewing machine, the combination of stitching mechanism and feeding mechanisln, xed means for guiding an elastic strip to the Work, means for retarding said elastic strip at one time thereby to carry it im away from the stitching mechanism and for releasing it at another time thereby to carry for reversing the elastic strip, and means under the controlof the operator for operatmg said elastic strip retarding means.

Signed atNyack, N. Y., this 14th day of November, 19

JOHN l?. WEIS. 

